I pulled off the road where a bridge crosses the creek at the mouth of the canyon. American Robins were singing away and a Cooper's Hawk zoomed overhead but there were no other birds around. Lots of butterflies on the bushes, though.
Next stop was the Ledgemere picnic area.
I scoured the edges of the creek for Dippers but had no luck. Perhaps the water was flowing swiftly for even these amazing swimming birds.
I heard the singing of what looked to be a Western Bluebird, a most unlikely bird for this part of Utah. A closer look showed it to be a Lazuli Bunting.
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A few minutes later, I was lucky to spot my first and only woodpecker, a Northern Flicker but was too slow with my camera to get a shot of it.
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A Hammond's Flycatcher was kinder and gave me just enough time to get a photo.
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When twenty more minutes at the site turned up only a Yellow Warbler, I decided to move on up the canyon.
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My next stop was a wetland area, a prominent feature of which was a beaver home.
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I didn't see any beavers but I spent several minutes trying to photograph Song Sparrows.
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Next was the site I was counting on for some really good birding: the Spruces Campground.
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I pulled into the entrance way and ... the campground was closed. Bummer! All I could do was park on the verge and trudge over the hardpacked snow to bird the nearby trees and undergrowth. Twenty minutes revealed only common birds: Red-breasted Nuthatches, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Then I spotted a very familiar bird, a Chipping Sparrow. These sparrows winter in Texas and then move further north for the summer.
Disappointed by the morning's birding (but not the scenery) , I turned the car around and was just starting back down the canyon when I heard several very distinctive calls. Steller's Jay. In fact, there was a pair chasing each other through the treetops across the road. Although they wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a decent photo, I managed to grab one (barely) recognizable shot.
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